Paraguay's New Electricity Law: Ending ANDE's Monopoly or Just a New Framework?

Paraguay's electricity sector is once again at a legislative crossroads with the enactment of Ley N° 7599/2025, intended to break the monopoly held by the national electricity administration, ANDE. This latest law follows a series of previous attempts dating back to 2006, which, despite legal reforms, have failed to introduce new private energy generation.

Ley N° 3009/2006, enacted under President Nicanor Duarte Frutos, legally opened the market for independent production and transport of electricity. However, its implementing decrees under President Federico Franco did not result in any new generation sources. The law's only practical outcome was licensing a private cogeneration agent, Paracel S.A., which has yet to produce any electricity under its framework.

Subsequent legislative efforts, including Ley N° 6977/2023 during the Mario Abdo Benítez administration, also failed to spur new renewable energy generation. Even Ley N° 7299/2024, a modification of the 2006 law passed early in Santiago Peña's current term, did not address the core issues and yielded no new production.

The current Ley N° 7599/2025, enacted on August 7, 2025, completely repeals the 2023 law and aims to modernize the energy market. However, given the track record of its predecessors, skepticism remains about whether this new legislation will genuinely end ANDE's de facto monopoly or simply create a new legal framework without tangible results in private energy generation.